WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: How to Make It in America

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WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: How to Make It in America

Eric Liebowitz/HBO

How to Make It in America, perhaps ironically, didn't make it very long. The short-lived HBO series about the lives of 20-something New Yorkers trying to attain variations of the American dream only lasted two seasons. But that doesn't mean the dudes of How to Make It—Ben Epstein (Bryan Greenberg) and Cam Calderon (Victor Rasuk)—didn't try. The two best friends from Brooklyn did all they could to break into the world of high-end fashion with their denim and hoodies, even if they didn't break into the world of long-running cable dramas.

At its heart, How to Make It in America is about the struggle of authenticity versus commerce. Throughout the series, both Ben and Cam stress they don't want to sell out in their quest to make their clothing line Crisp a success, but they also lack a clear roadmap. (They decide to sell jeans because they happened upon the material, not the idea.) Despite their street smarts and countless connections, they constantly seem to come up short. They take odd jobs to keep afloat and experience moments of triumph, but those only come when they're on their home turf. In that way, jeans are the perfect product for them to push. Nothing is more American than denim, yet jeans are so ubiquitous, trying to make your mark with them in the good ol' U.S.A. takes a little more than hustle.

Beyond its plot, How to Make It was praised for its depiction of New York City's relevant subcultures, particularly hip-hop culture, and its refreshing portrayal of diversity within friend groups. It's also got a faint smell of bromance (the show's executive producer is Entourage's Mark Wahlberg, after all), but the execution is charming. And since filming began following the financial crisis, the show capitalizes on the growing public distrust of Wall Street as well as the changing nature of entrepreneurship and creativity in the United States. And while it's set in an increasingly gentrified Brooklyn, the show still makes sure to tip its hat to the first and second generation immigration narratives of NYC.

If you're still not convinced, How To Make It in America has one of the best opening credit sequences of all time, set to Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar." It's a stream of colorful montages highlighting the grit and glitz of the city, and, most importantly, the cultural transcendence of the dollar: The thing that, more than anything, proves you've made it.

How to Make It in America

Number of Seasons: 2 (16 episodes)

Time Requirements: One week, but if you're truly dedicated, you could knock the whole thing out in one long weekend.

Where to Get Your Fix: HBO Go, Amazon Prime

Best Character to Follow: Rene Calderon (Luis Guzman), hands-down. Even though Cam and Ben (and everyone else) are terrified of him, Rene owes money to just as many people, if not more, as they do. He's an expert schemer, plus he has henchmen. He's also the mastermind behind the astonishingly tone-deaf and culturally offensive Rasta Monsta energy drink he pushes throughout the tri-state area.

Seasons/Episodes You Can Skip:Here's the thing: This binge is going to be very short and each episode is pretty good, so go ahead and watch them all.

Seasons/Episodes You Can't Skip:

Season 1: Episode 1, "Pilot" After their skateboard-deck venture goes bust, Ben and Cam scheme their way into selling leather jackets, which quickly morphs into a job to pay back a $5,000 loan to Cam's dangerous cousin Rene, who was just released from prison. The whole day Ben is dreading seeing his ex-girlfriend Rachel (the immensely-likeable Lake Bell) at an art party for their friend GiGi (played by Warpaint's Shannyn Sossamon). We also get a glimpse of the Neanderthals, a group of ex-cons and grunge-tastic hipsters effortlessly riding a wave of success in the fashion scene. Ben's old classmate David "Kappo" Kaplan fronts them money in exchange for some good credit with the doorman at a club. Because of somebody else's oversight, Ben and Cam decide to go into the jeans business.

Season 1: Episode 2, "Crisp" Ben approaches his old professor at FIT to get his take on a '70s-inspired denim line, and get a manufacturer connection. From here on out, everyone tells the duo that going into the denim business is a terrible idea. Ben and Rachel meetup to discuss ... being broken up. Cam and Ben see John Varvatos at a model party, and try to wrangle a meeting with his denim manufacturer.

Season 1: Episode 3, "Paper, Denim, Dollars" Rachel's former college roommate stops by the city following a stint with the Peace Corps, telling tales of running a mobile truck stop condom distribution service somewhere in Africa to combat the AIDS epidemic. Rachel, by consequence, becomes unnerved by her frivolous job as a decorator.

Season 1: Episode 4, "Unhappy Birthday" How do you navigate your ex's birthday celebration? Rachel can't decide if she should make a "big" deal about her birthday, but doing so incidentally makes it a big deal. The guy she's seeing, Darren, surprises her, and gives one of the worst birthday toasts ever. This episode ends with a packet of Cheese Doodles.

Season 2: Episode 1, "I'm Good" Ben and Cam return from peddling T-shirts in Tokyo wanting to put on a crazy pop-up event to catch people's attention. Ben, however, gets too high from a laced joint courtesy of the Neanderthals and they don't make it to their own show, which was complete with fetishized, post-feminist dancers and an accidental shooting. Rachel meets Ben's new girlfriend, Julie.

Season 2: Episode 4, "It's Not Even Like That" Legendary fashion designer Nancy (Gina Gershon) tells Ben and Cam they need to re-shoot their look book, and Ben wants his friend Domingo (Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi) to do it. Rachel's perky boss tells her that she has "a hostile listening face." Ben, Rachel, and David attend the wedding of an old friend. Rene buys his girlfriend fake diamond earrings.

Season 2: Episode 5, "Mofongo" Rene ends up having a particularly touching conversation with his girlfriend's teenage daughter about her sexual orientation, youth, and identity. Ben and Cam try to get a pair of Midwestern buyers to take notice of Crisp, but the two women are just interested in partying.

Why You Should Binge:

You are bound to relate to one character on this show—or at least respect their hustle. You also get to see Lake Bell before she became the indie darling she is today.

Best Scene—"Kid Selling Candy"This scene occurs early in the show, but it's a sweet exchange between Ben, Cam, and a kid selling peanut M&Ms on the subway. He notices Ben's shoes and wants to buy them, so he can sell them for more. (Everyone's on their grind.)

The Takeaway:

We could take this opportunity to say this show is about "making it" and what that means to different people—and it is—but it also performed an unexpected public service: It made a convincing argument for Kid Cudi to stop rapping and start acting. Seriously. He's awesome on this show (plus, in a series about fashion, he's probably the best-dressed character).

If You Liked How to Make It in America You'll Love:

It's reminiscent of Entourage (without the overt sexism), so that's a good place to start. If you like loveable characters navigating New York and just trying to make a buck, try Broad City. It's just as good, and way funnier.